Rotary front axle.



IVI. A. PALMER.

ROTARY FRONT AXLE, APLPL'ICMWON man DEc,3o.1913.

Url. 271, 19H5.

ROTARY FRONT AXLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented tlct. 24, 1916.

Application led December 30, 1913. Serial No. 809,507'.`

To all "t0/tom t may concern Be it known that l, lilxunrcn A. P.=\L MER,a citizen of the United States, residing at White (laks, in the countyof Lincoln and State of New Mexico, have invented certain new and-usefulImprovements in Rotary Front Axles; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

r1`hisl invention relates to rotary front axles for motor vehicles, andone of the principal objects or' the invention is to provide knucklejoints for the wheel spindles of the front axle, said knuckle joints tobe fully covered and protected from dust, and means being provided forpermitting the wheels to turn free on the spindles in making short turnsto prevent the slipping of the wheels or the tire portion on the groundor. pavement.

rThe foregoingy and other objects may be' attained by means of the`construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,y

Figure 1 is a -view in front elevation of the front axle made inaccordance with this invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional Viewof one of the knuckle joints, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the spindlebushing, Fig. 4

. is a similar view of a key for releasing the hub of the wheel, and Fi5 is a sectional view taken on the line 7 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings thenumeral 1 designates the vfront axle, andat the opposite ends of said axle are rounded joint members 2, which arehollowed out, and extending longitudinally of the axle is a vrectangularrecess 3. The spindle 4 is provided with a joint member 5 which inclosesthe member 2, said member 5 being also hollowed out and longitudinallyof the spindle is a rectangular recess 6.

A spiral spring 7 is connected at its 'oppo site ends to the rectangularblocks 8 and said blocks are fitted within the recesses 3 and 6 in theend of the axle and in the spindle. Fitted to the ends of the axle 1 areknucklemembers, each comprising a sleeve or collar 9 and curved arms 10.The curved larms 10 are provided with spaced lugs 11,

sleeve 14 fixed to the spindle #Land `an arm 15 provided with anaperture 16 for connection to the rods leading to the steering gear.Mounted on each of the spindles 4 is a slotted bushing 17 said bushingbeing connected to the spindles by means or' a spline or key 20 littinginto a slot in each of the spindles. The bushing 17 -mav slide upon the.spindle 4, but rotates therewith owing to the spline or key 20connected to the spindle and bushing. A tapering slot 19 is Jformed inthe bushing 17 and extends from end to end thereof to receive thetapering key 20 having an enlarged portion 21, which engages the slot 19in the bushing 17.

collar 22 is fitted to slide on the spindle 4 and engages the bushing 17to move said bushing 17 in the direction of the collar 23 when thespindle 4 is swung upon its pivot to cause the bushing 17 to retract andallow a wheel to turn freely thereon, the collar 22 being causedto'slide on the spindle 4 by pins 26, which will be hereinafter morefully described.

A spiral spring 24 encircles the outer end of the spindle 4 and bearsagainst the collar 23 at one end, while the opposite end bears againstthe spindle nut 25. Sliding pins26 are mounted in the spindle knucklemembers and extend longitudinally of the yspindle, said pins bearing atone end against the collar 22 and their opposite ends bearing againstlugs 27, formed on the axle knuckle and projecting in line with the pins26.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that when the spindle members areturned sharply in one direction or the other the pins 26 will be pushedoutwardly by means of the lugs 27, said pins impinging upon the collar22 to push it outwardly, carrying with it the sleeve 17, and compressingthe spring 24.

My invention is simple in construction, is eiiicient in operation,cannot readily get out of order, and is economical in that it saves thewear and tear on tires, particularly in making short turns.

lVhat is claimed iszln a device of the class-described comprisingspindles, universal means for Connecting the spindles to the ends of anaxle, knuckle members carried by the yspindles and theends of the axle,means for pivotally securing the ends of the knuckle meml bers together,said spindles provided with slots, bushings provided with tapering slotssurrounding said spindlesl` keys slidably mounted Within the slots ofsaid spindles, an enlarged tapering portion formed on said keys andextending into the tapering slots of said bushings, collars secured tosaid spindles for an engagement with one end of said bushings, springsadjustably secured to the spindles for an engagement with said collars,collars slidable on said spindles, pins carried by the knuckle membersupon the spindles Jfor an engagement with said second mentioned Collars,and the o ther ends of said pins engaging the knuckle members carried bythe axle to move the bushings in the direction of irst mentioned Collarsto retract said bushings upon said spindles.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presenceof two Witnesses.

MAURICE A. PALMER.

I'Vitnesses:

IVAYNE VAN SCHOYGK, PAUL MAYER.

